Trump's Iran war predicament...

U.S. President Donald Trump tells a different story every day about the reasons for the war he and Israel have started against Iran. Meanwhile, this pile-up of narratives sheds light on how Trump is being dragged along by Netanyahu. Netanyahu, along with the Neocons, has been the architect of the "war with Iran" scenario for decades. American presidents before Trump had avoided playing out this scenario. If Netanyahu's lies had any connection to reality, Iran would have had hundreds of nuclear weapons by now. And then this war wouldn't be happening either.

Conflicting statements are also coming from the Trump administration about when the war with Iran will end. Initially, it was said the attacks would last four to five weeks at most, but Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said it could last longer. According to the latest report from CENTCOM, the attack timeline could even extend until September. These contradictory statements are a sign that the planned timeline for the war is being disrupted by dynamics on the ground.

Democratic Senator Mark Kelly said, "They don't have a goal, they don't have a strategic plan, they don't have a timeline, and what this will likely lead to is, again, a long war where many Americans will die and for which there is no justification."

The U.S. and Israel don't seem very aligned on the political goals of the war. The Trump administration is making different statements about the political objectives. One statement mentions "regime change," while another says something else. Trump said he doesn't care about the nature of the regime; the only thing he wants is an Iranian leadership aligned with the U.S. and Israel. By the time you read this, Trump might have said something else.

Israel, however, wants regime change. They want to install the deposed Shah's son as a puppet head of the new regime. If that doesn't happen, the fragmentation of Iran or prolonged chaos might be preferred. Trump had mentioned there were some names within the Iranian regime he would want to make a deal with. Later, he stated that these individuals had been killed in the bombings. By targeting these figures, Israel is undermining Trump's "quick exit" options.

During a March 3rd hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby argued that the U.S. seeks "comprehensive and reasonable objectives" in its military action against Iran and is not pursuing regime change through the use of force. When asked why the military campaign began with the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Colby replied, "I'm talking about the objectives of the American military campaign. Those are Israeli operations." This piece of information is significant in showing the lack of policy alignment between the U.S. and Israel.

As I've stated before, Netanyahu's primary goal was to get Trump into a war with Iran, by any means necessary. He was confident that once the U.S. entered the war, he could ensure it progressed solely according to Israel's objectives. Trump's contradictory statements about the war's justifications and timeline show that Netanyahu got what he wanted. Trump's statements, in turn, can be seen as attempts to escape Netanyahu's trap. But whenever Trump tries to get out, Netanyahu makes another move to keep him in.

Trump previously said, "The Iranians wanted to talk. I agreed." Later, he said, "They want to talk. I told them, 'It's too late'." Most recently, Trump stated, "There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender." Trump seems to have been convinced that Iran would fall easily and quickly, like Venezuela. That's why Trump doesn't want the war—which he tries to present as an 'operation'—to drag on. On one hand, the economic consequences of the war starting to be felt by Americans, and on the other, the backlash against Americans fighting for Israel's interests, are cornering Trump, even if he doesn't show it much.

Besides American public opinion turning against Israel, a significant portion of Trump's most loyal political base is angry that Trump is making Americans fight Netanyahu's war. This faction sees Trump, who came to power with promises of "America First" and ending "endless wars," continuing with an "Israel First" policy as a betrayal of the "Make America Great Again (MAGA)" movement. Trump, however, says, "I am MAGA; they are not MAGA." As the November midterm elections approach, the MAGA supporters are also at a crossroads with Trump.